Institutions and Laws

ANTH/HRTS 3028W: Indigenous Rights and Aboriginal Australia
TTH 3:30-4:15pm
Francoise Dussart

An introduction to the study and understanding of Aboriginal ways of life and thought. An exploration of the complexity of contemporary indigenous social orders and land rights issues. CA 4-INT.

HRTS 3050: Approaches to Human Rights Advocacy
TTH 12:30-1:45pm
John Dunn

The study of international and domestic non-governmental organizations in human rights advocacy and campaigns.

HRTS 3055: Theory and Practice of International Criminal Justice
Time TBD
Predrag Dojcinovic

International humanitarian and criminal law; genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression, and theories of individual criminal responsibility.

BLAW/HRTS 3252: Business and Human Rights
M 5:00-7:45pm
Rachel Chambers

This course examines the human rights implications of multinational enterprises’ global operations. Students learn how to assess corporate social impact through a human rights framework, consider the challenges of regulating the human rights impacts of global business, analyze international policy responses, and evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches to enforcing human rights standards for corporations.

History, Philosophy, & Theory

HRTS 2203: The Holocaust in Print, Theater, and Film
T 3:30-6:30pm
Grae Sibelman

Representations of the Holocaust, including first-hand accounts and documentaries; artistic choices in genre, structure, imagery, point of view, and the limits of representation. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

ENGR/HRTS 2300E: Engineering for Human Rights
W 3:35-6:00pm
Davis Chacon Hurtado

Foundational concepts of human rights and engineering ethics from a global perspective. Discussions of the role of engineering in society from human rights and different ethical perspectives. Principles of “Engineering for human rights” on distributive justice, participation, consideration of duty bearers, accountability, and indivisibility of rights. Case study analysis of engineering projects for human rights impacts. CA 2.

LLAS/HRTS 2450: Human Rights in Latin America
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Anne Gebelein

Fundamental concepts and recurrent challenges of human rights in Latin America.

HEJS/HRTS 3205: Introduction to Holocaust Studies
Online Synchronous
MW 3:30-4:45pm
Grae Sibelman

This course provides students with an introduction to the study of the Holocaust. It examines the political, cultural, and religious contexts in which the mass murder of European Jews and others unfolded, considers the conditions under which the Holocaust became possible, the possibilities for resistance and dissent, and the impact of the Holocaust on contemporary culture and understanding of human rights.

ANTH/HRTS 3326: Global Health and Human Rights
W 1:25-3:55pm
Cesar Abadia

Theories, methods and controversies in the interconnected fields of global health and human rights.

HRTS 3460: Human Rights and Armed Conflict
TTH 11:00am-12:15pm
Michael Rubin

Examines the relationship between human rights and armed conflict from a social science perspective. Explores human rights abuses as cause and consequence of armed conflict. Evaluates the effectiveness of the human rights and humanitarian approaches to conflict management.

ENGL/HRTS 3631W: Literature, Culture, and Humanitarianism
Hybrid
MW 10:10-11:00am
Eleni Coundouriotis

Relationships between literature and culture and humanitarian movements, from the eighteenth century to the present.

Applications & Methods

POLS/HRTS 3256W: Politics and Human Rights in Global Supply Chains
T 4:00-6:30pm
Shareen Hertel

Political and human rights implications of regulating contemporary global supply chains: official regulatory frameworks; non-regulatory approaches to rule-making (such as voluntary corporate codes of conduct and industry standards); social responses to the dilemmas of "ethical" sourcing of goods and services.

HRTS 3540.001: Topics in Human Rights Practice - Human Rights and Civic Action Close to Home
M 10:10am-1:10pm
Sandra Sirota

Through this course, students will critically examine locally relevant human rights issues, develop skills for human rights action, and learn about and support human rights education. Students will have the opportunity to contribute to Human Rights Close to Home, a program at UConn that engages high school students and K-12 educators to encourage civic engagement to strengthen democracy and respect for human rights.

DMD/HRTS 3640: Human Rights Archives I: Documenting and Curating Community Memory
F 12:20-3:20pm
Catherine Masud

The use of human rights archival materials in documentary storytelling. Students will learn methods and best practices of collecting and managing digital visual and audio-visual archival assets. This is the first part of a two-semester unit addressing a common theme. Part I is not a prerequisite for Part II.
Course flyer

Electives 

AAAS/SOCI/HRTS 2220: Asian Indian Women: Activism and Social Change in India and the United States
TTH 12:30 - 1:45pm
Carmel Christy Kattithara Joseph

How gender, class, and ethnicity/race structure everyday lives of Asian Indian women in both India and the United States.

WGSS/HRTS 2263: Women, Gender, and Violence
Section 001 MWF 1:25 - 2:15pm
Section 002 MWF 2:30 - 3:20pm
Section 003 MWF 3:35 - 4:25pm
Nasim Basiri

Discussion of various forms of gendered violence in the United States and in a global context. Physical, sexual, emotional and structural violence; social, political and personal meanings of gendered violence; special emphasis on women.

AFRA/SOCI/HRTS 2520: White Racism
TTH 11:00am-12:15pm
Noel Cazenave

The origin, nature, and consequences of white racism as a central and enduring social principle around which the United States and other modern societies are structured and evolve. CA 4.

AFRA/SOCI/HRTS 2530: African Americans and Social Protest
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Noel Cazenave

Social and economic-justice movements, from the beginning of the Civil Rights movement to the present.

SOCI/HRTS 2830: Class, Power, and Inequality
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Bhoomi Thakore

Inequality and its consequences in contemporary societies.

ARTH/HRTS 3575: Human Rights, Digital Media, Visual Culture
Hybrid
MW 3:35-4:50pm
Michael Orwicz

The problematics of digital media and visual representation in conceptualizing, documenting, and visualizing human rights and humanitarian issues. CA 1.

ARTH/HRTS 3580: Image as Witness: Testimony, Witness, Confession
Hybrid
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Jose Falconi

Explores the role of visual culture in bearing witness to human rights abuses.

POLS/HRTS 3807: Constitutional Rights and Liberties
TTH 9:30-10:45am
Virginia Hettinger

The role of the Supreme Court in interpreting the Bill of Rights. Topics include freedoms of speech and religion, criminal due process, and equal protection.

Capstone 

HRTS 4291: Service Learning Seminar/Internship
F 10:10-11:00am Online Synchronous
Alyssa Webb 

Combination of supervised fieldwork within the larger human rights community with regular classroom meetings for reflection/analysis on the application of human rights concepts and practices. Students must secure a satisfactory intern position before the end of the second week of the semester of enrollment in this course; students should be in consultation with the instructor several months in advance. 

HRTS 4996W: Senior Thesis
By arrangement

Research and writing of major project exploring a topic with human rights, with close supervision and production of multiple written drafts.

Core Classes 

LAW 7878: International Human Rights
TTH 9:00am-10:30am
Molly Land 

This course analyzes the essence of human rights in comparison with other rights of citizens. Human rights shall be considered from the viewpoint of international regulation (the United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights), regulation in different parts of the world and in different countries (United States of America, western European countries, Russia and eastern European countries). Concrete cases of human rights violations and concrete means of protecting human rights will be discussed. 

LAW 7883: Human Rights and Post Conflict Justice
T 2:00-5:00pm
Richard Wilson 

How do countries cope with periods of massive human rights abuses committed in the past? What role should the international community play in promoting accountability and reconciliation for such abuses? What is the role of courts, either domestic or international, in such processes? Should countries pass amnesty laws and pardons for human rights offenders to facilitate the consolidation of democracy and should these laws be binding on international courts?  This seminar will explore a range of approaches that countries have used, including truth commissions and criminal trials. The seminar will focus on a number of case studies, including South Africa, Guatemala, Rwanda and the Balkans, as well as the impact of international lawsuits such as the Pinochet extradition proceedings between Britain and Spain. We will look at the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court and examine the issues raised by a court with its jurisdiction.  Drawing on these examples, students will compare the advantages and disadvantages of international and domestic solutions in each context.  Students will be required to write a short book review, a 6-8 page midterm paper and a final paper of 15-20 pages. 

SOCI 5515: Sociology of Immigration
Jacobs
Th 3:30-6:30pm  

Theoretical and empirical work on immigration and ethnicity including forms of  assimilation, ethnicity and transnationalism; challenges and opportunities for incorporation, and struggles over political, social, economic human rights.  The course focuses on the US with selected cases from Europe and Asia. 

SWEL 5385: Human Rights and Social Work
TH 4:00pm-6:30pm
Online Synchronous
Craig Mortley

Theoretical, conceptual, and practical foundation for social workers to engage in a human rights-based approach to social work. Students will gain an understanding of the international human rights system, social work's contribution to achieving human rights, and how international human rights principles can be applied to social work practice. We will use a number of cases from varied countries, including the United States, to examine how social workers can both advocate for and respect human rights in their work.

Electives 

ALDS/GERM/CLCS 5324: Teaching for Intercultural Citizenship and Human Rights I
Manuela Wagner
T 3:30-6:15pm  

Explores the role of intercultural competence and human rights education from a variety of perspectives, including applied linguistics, education, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and pragmatics. Through readings, online and face-to-face discussions, role-plays, scenarios, and presentations students will critically reflect on models of intercultural competence and human rights education and their relation to (student) outcomes; examine the role of social justice and human rights within the teaching of intercultural competence; and integrate and assess intercultural competence in teaching. Taught in English. 

CLCS 5350: Theater and Human Rights
Sebastian Wogenstein
T 11-1:30pm 

Exploration of theater and related performing arts as forms of artistic expression and public debate. Analysis of specific characteristics of modern and contemporary theater and exploration of theater's engagement with human rights discourse and interventions in the public sphere. Theoretical texts and recordings of performances will inform class discussions. 

HRTS 5351.003: Topics in Human Rights Practice - Revolution Meets Resolution: A Peacemaker’s Guide to Justice
W 12:20-3:20pm
Marie Pace

The relationship between the fields of human rights and peace/conflict studies has historically been marked by tension rooted in differing priorities and approaches. Human rights scholars and practitioners often focus on accountability, justice, and the strict application of international legal standards, sometimes advocating for punitive measures against violators. Meanwhile, the peace & conflict community tends to prioritize mending social fragmentation through such methods as dialogue, negotiation, and reconciliation, aiming to find common ground and foster relationships between conflicting parties. This divergence has led to friction, with human rights advocates sometimes viewing peacemakers as compromising justice for stability, while peacemakers may see strict human rights approaches as potentially prolonging conflicts by hardening positions and undermining social cohesion.

This course will challenge the notion that these two approaches to social transformation—revolution vs. resolution—must be at odds, instead positing that sustainable peace and justice are deeply interconnected. We will explore how the principles and practices of peacemaking can enrich and enhance the field of human rights. At this critical historic moment, where extreme polarization has arguably become a defining feature of American society, and with violent conflict on the rise globally, this course aims to equip human rights students with essential insights, frameworks, and tools from peace studies. The goal is to empower students to engage the issues they care about in ways that can potentially heal social divisions and foster both justice and sustainable peace.

LAW 7360: Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession
Johnson & Menon
W 6:30-9:15pm 

This course explores issues related to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, including history, policies, and laws connected to these areas.  The course will consider the reasons why diversity and inclusion are a problem within the legal profession, identify ongoing issues and systemic challenges, and survey efforts made to increase diversity and inclusion in various aspects of the legal profession.  Topics will include disparities and discrimination related to race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, age, and socioeconomic status.  The course will include guest speakers from different areas of legal practice. Students will be evaluated based on a course paper, short response papers, and active participation. 

LAW 7679: International Law
Mark Janis
T 6:30-9:15pm 

This course is a study of the rules and adjudication of international law. Topics include customary international law, treaties, general principles of law and equity, the adjudication of international law by international courts, domestic courts, and international arbitration.
 

LAW 7814: Refugee Law
Jon Bauer
Th 2:00-5:00pm 

Millions of people worldwide are forced to flee their homes as a result of persecution, war, or other factors.  This course will focus on legal responses to the problem of refugees, on both the international level and in United States law.  The course will examine the development of international norms concerning the protection of refugees under the U.N Refugee Convention and Protocol and the Convention Against Torture, and consider in depth the laws and institutions that address claims for asylum and related forms of protection in the United States.  The course will examine issues such as the legal standards for qualifying for refugee status, the challenges of assessing applicants' credibility, and the complex and controversial issues raised by the increasing numbers of refugees fleeing from gender-based harms (such as domestic violence, forced marriage, and female genital cutting) and gang violence. 

LAW 7872: Comparative Law and Rights
Angel Oquendo
W 4:00-6:00pm  

From a human-rights and international-litigation perspective, the course will deal with constitutional law as well as specific areas of private law such as civil law, civil procedure, and business law. It will first introduce the civil-law tradition, along with the legal history of Continental Europe and Latin America. With a focus on the latter region but constant references to the former, the discussion will then shift to constitutional law: to the notion of constitutionalism, basic principles, the vindication of rights, and second- and third-generation entitlements. Thereafter, it will likewise zero in on civil law¿in particular, civil codes, interpretation, codified sexism, and civil remedies as well as on civil procedure specifically, the conception of procedure, procedural guaranties, and collective actions. The class will close with an analogous exploration of corporate law. Throughout, it will contrast legal institutions from the United States. 

PUBH 5460: Health and Human Rights
T 5:30pm-8:30pm
Audrey Chapman

Explores the many ways in which human health and well-being are related to human rights. Human rights are a field of international law which includes major treaties, treaty bodies, and adjudicatory mechanisms. This course will review the ways in which human rights instruments and jurisprudence have addressed health and issues related to health. Students will also study a wide range of substantive public health issues that have a human rights dimension, and consider the ways that human rights are used as advocacy tools to improve the structural environment that shapes the public's health.

SOCI 5515: Sociology of Immigration
Jacobs
Th 3:30-6:30pm  

Theoretical and empirical work on immigration and ethnicity including forms of  assimilation, ethnicity and transnationalism; challenges and opportunities for incorporation, and struggles over political, social, economic human rights.  The course focuses on the US with selected cases from Europe and Asia. 

SWEL 5318: Child Adolescent Trauma & Mental Health
Patricia Wilcox
Sa 9:00am-12:00pm 

Incorporates the new National Child Traumatic Stress Network core curriculum on child trauma (CCCT). The course conveys the crucial evidence-based concepts, components, and skills designed by the NCTSN to strengthen competency in assessment, referral, and treatment. 

SWEL 5345: International Development
Rebecca Thomas
Sa 10:00-4:00pm 

International relief, reconstruction and development -- theories and practice strategies to attack poverty and improve human well-being. Among the topics covered will be: building local capacity, developing local partnerships, use of appropriate technology to create sustainability, multi-sectoral work, cultural relevance, ensuring gender sensitive programming, understanding and working with local and national structures, funding streams, and international partnerships. Elective course for Substantive Area: Focused Area of Study on International Social Work.  

Class to meet in-person, 10:00am-4:00pm on the following dates: 1/25/25, 2/8/25, 2/22/25, 3/8/25, and 4/12/25. Additional remote asynchronous content to be completed outside of in-person class times. 

Core Classes 

HRTS 5301: Contemporary Debates in Human Rights
W 10:10am-1:10pm
Kathryn Libal

Key Debates in Human Rights will introduce students to the main modern debates in the academic field of human rights. It is interdisciplinary in scope, including recent intellectual contributions from philosophy, law, political science, sociology, anthropology, literature and history. It will address a number of central issues and questions, including the normative philosophical foundations of human rights, whether human rights are universal or relative, whether human rights can be held collectively, and the justifications for women's rights and cultural rights.

EDCI 5847: Human Rights and Social Justice in Education
T 5:00-7:45pm
Sandra Sirota

Introduction to human rights and social justice, two overlapping, but non-identical frameworks for understanding and acting through educational institutions, practices, and objectives.

Law 7878: International Human Rights
T 6:30pm-9:15pm
Molly Land

This course analyzes the essence of human rights in comparison with other rights of citizens. Human rights shall be considered from the viewpoint of international regulation (the United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights), regulation in different parts of the world and in different countries (United States of America, western European countries, Russia and eastern European countries). Concrete cases of human rights violations and concrete means of protecting human rights will be discussed.

SWEL 5385: Human Rights and Social Work
T 4:00pm-6:30pm
TBA

Theoretical, conceptual, and practical foundation for social workers to engage in a human rights-based approach to social work. Students will gain an understanding of the international human rights system, social work's contribution to achieving human rights, and how international human rights principles can be applied to social work practice. We will use a number of cases from varied countries, including the United States, to examine how social workers can both advocate for and respect human rights in their work.

Electives 

GERM 5345: Studies in German Literature III
TH 9:30am-12:15pm
Anke Finger

Study of a coherent body of texts drawn from the period from approximately 1890 to the present.

HRTS 5055: Theory and Practice of International Criminal Justice
Online Asynchronous
Predrag Dojcinovic 

An introduction to foundational concepts of international criminal justice such as international humanitarian and criminal law, genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression, and theories of individual criminal responsibility. An exploration of the complex challenges, successes, and failures of international criminal courts and tribunals. 

HRTS 5351.001: Human Rights Archives I: Documenting and Curating Community Memory
F 12:20-3:20pm
Catherine Masud

The use of human rights archival materials in documentary storytelling. Students will learn methods and best practices of collecting and managing digital visual and audio-visual archival assets. This is the first part of a two-semester unit addressing a common theme. Part I is not a prerequisite for Part II.
Course flyer

HRTS 5351.002: Human Rights and Civic Action Close to Home
M 10:10am-1:10pm
Sandra Sirota

Throughout this course, students will critically examine locally relevant human rights issues, develop skills for human rights action, and learn about and support human rights education. Students will have the opportunity to contribute to Human Rights Close to Home, a program at UConn that engages high school students and K-12 educators to encourage civic engagement to strengthen democracy and respect for human rights. 

HRTS 5450:  Contemporary Issues in Genocide Studies
TH 9:30am-12:30pm
James Waller

A deeply divided society is one where violence, or even the threat of violence in times of peace, keeps a society divided along social identity lines. These deep social cleavages leave societies at increased risk for large-scale violent conflict, including genocide or other atrocity crimes. This course analyzes risk assessment for genocide and mass atrocity through systematic analyses of case studies of deeply divided societies.  These case studies will include, but are not limited to, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the United States. Particular attention will be paid to the enduring impact of these deep identity divisions and the ways in which truth, memory, and justice continue to be pursued in each case.

HRTS 5460: Human Right and Armed Conflict
TTH 11:00am-12:15pm
Michael Rubin 

Examines the relationship between human rights and armed conflict from a social science perspective. Explores human rights abuses as cause and consequence of armed conflict. Evaluates the effectiveness of the human rights and humanitarian approaches to conflict management. 

SWEL 5318: Child Adolescent Trauma & Mental Health
M 4-6:30pm
TBA

Incorporates the new National Child Traumatic Stress Network core curriculum on child trauma (CCCT). The course conveys the crucial evidence-based concepts, components, and skills designed by the NCTSN to strengthen competency in assessment, referral, and treatment.

Law 7357: Insurance and Discrimination
Th 6:30pm-8:30pm
Robert Yass

The insurance underwriting and pricing process, of necessity, involves making choices among applicants on an individual and group basis. At its core, this process involves discrimination. This class explores such discrimination and considers what are the allowable bounds. Our study will include, how risk is evaluated, what the transfer of risk entails as well as the role of insurers in current society and its historic role in the United States economy. Specific cases of race, geography, age, gender, health and disability will be evaluated, along with changes over time in insurers' treatment of these factors and what has prompted these changes.

Law 7609: Clinic: Asylum and Human Rights
T 2:00pm-5:00pm
Jon Bauer

Students in this clinical program represent persons seeking political asylum in the United States. Asylum is available to individuals who can establish a well founded fear of persecution if returned to their home countries. Students exercise primary responsibility for all aspects of the asylum process, including proceedings in the Asylum Office of the Department of Homeland Security and hearings before Immigration judges. Students interview and counsel clients and investigate the facts supporting their claims, research human rights conditions in the client's home country, prepare supporting documentation and a brief in support of the asylum application, and represent clients at hearings and in related matters. Classroom seminars focus on the substantive and procedural law, both international and domestic, relevant to asylum claims, the lawyering skills that students will utilize in their cases, and the discussion of legal. tactical and ethical issues that arise in the context of the casework. This is a one semester clinic, but students have the opportunity to continue their work in subsequent semesters through Advanced Clinic Fieldwork. 9 credits (4 credits seminar, 5 credits fieldwork).

Law 7672: Immigration Law
W 3:30pm-6:30pm
Meghann LaFountain

This course will provide a basic understanding of the issues and principles upon which U.S. immigration law is based as well as the policies underlying those principles. It will examine the legal and social aspects of this administrative agency-based field including visas, detention, exclusion, deportation, relief from deportation, judicial review, and citizenship by birth and naturalization. It will also expose students to the interplay of complex statutes and regulations, policy and ethics issues, international law, human rights law and constitutional law. It is about outsiders and therefore is a key part of the study of civil rights.

Law 7679: International Law
TTh 9:30am-11:00am
Mark Janis

This course is a study of the rules and adjudication of international law. Topics include customary international law, treaties, general principles of law and equity, the adjudication of international law by international courts, domestic courts, and international arbitration.

Law 7759: The Nuremberg Trials
M 10:30am-12:30pm
Robert L. Birmingham

This seminar is a study of war crime trials held in the aftermath of World War II, in their legal and social contexts: from the law of the late Weimer Republic (c. 1928-1933) and the Third Reich (1933-1945); through the Nuremberg Trials (1945-1949) and that of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1961; to related domestic litigation under the Alien Tort Claims Act and otherwise.

Last updated 4/25/25.